Villages in Frontenac

Jul 02, 2020

Battersea, Inverary and Sunbury

Inverary is the centre of the largest growth area in Frontenac County and new services are always coming onstream. It is home to Garrett's Bake Shop. Northway Home Hardware and LCBO, Inverary Pharmasave, Lavalee's Cookery, Maple Country Home and Farm, etc.

Between them, the Sunbury General store and Ormsbee's Mercantile contain everything from rubber boots to banana bread.

Battersea is a popular dining, fishing, boating and resting spot for tourists, with two licensed restaurants, a hotel, a fishing store, convenience store and a nearby resort.

In 1856 James Campbell suggested that the post office in the community that was known as Storrington be named Inverary, after his ancestral home in Scotland, ans that's where the village name of Inverary came from. The local township maintained the Storrington name until 1998.

Cloyne and Northbrook

Spread out along Highway 41, the hamlets of Cloyne and Northbrook straddle two counties. A grocery store, restaurants and a cafe anchor Northbrook’s retail, and Cloyne has a butcher shop, convenience store, a full service marina and store, and the Pioneer Museum. Hardware and outfitting stores are also located on the stretch of Hwy. 41 between the two hamlets.

Nearby Flinton is named after Bill Flint, a business man and senator from Belleville who developed mills and villages along Skoottamatta river in the mid 19th century.

Harrowsmtih

Harrowsmith is known as the gateway to the Canadian Shield. The trailhead just south of the village is located on both the K&P and Cataraqui trails. With two pizzerias, a butcher shop/LCBO outlet (Gilmour’s meats) a new pharmacy, and a fabric store, Harrowsmith is a hamlet on the move.

The first sawmill in the region was opened in Harrowsmith in 1826, and the village became a centre for wood based production, including mills, tanneries, barrel and carriage factories that thrived until the latter part of the 19th Century.

Ompah and Plevna

The hamlets of Ompah and Plevna are the social headquarters for year-round residents in North Frontenac. Amenities in Plevna include a grocery store and gas bar, restaurants, an LCBO outlet, and a large hardware store, and lodges are located nearby. The North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve is located nearby. Over in Ompah the Community Centre is home to the local library and daily events. The Scenic Route Rest stop is located across the road.

The village of Plevna was originally called Buckshot but the post office insisted on a new name. Locals argued about the name until one man said that the situation was nearly as bad as the situation that had existed for years at a town in Bulgaria that ended up taking the name Plevna. Most families agreed that it was better for the town to take an unknown name than a local family name other than their own.

Sharbot Lake

Sharbot Lake features a beautiful public beach and a railway heritage park. Amenities include: restaurants, a café, a bakery, grocery store, pharmacy, gas stations, a hotel, B&B’s, a provincial park, boat launch, hardware stores, marina, LCBO and much more.

Sharbot Lake and vicnity had been summer hunting and fishing grounds for thousands of years. Francis and Mary Sharbot settled at Sharbot Lake from Lake ofTwo Mountains in about 1850. The lake and towns were named after them.

Sydenham

Sydenham is a commercial hub. The Point Park is a recreational centre on Sydenham Lake, which is in the heart of the village, next to the largest library branch in Frontenac County. A full grocery and hardware store, Canada’s oldest general store, restaurants, a pharmacy, an LCBO outlet and more can all be found in “downtown” Sydenham.
For information about the history of Sydenham, check out the Historical Walking Tour of Sydenham at Southfrontenac.net, under Visitor Information.

Verona

Road 38 becomes Verona Main street over the most concentrated shopping strip in Frontenac. You can find gifts, groceries, hardware and local food, all the supplies you could need for a long stay in the countryside, even a new car.

The Verona Temperance House was completed in 1910, and the Verona organization had over 100 members in its heyday and resistance to alcohol persisted well past the end of prohibition.